ABSTRACT
The importance that theorists and researchers attach to relational dynamics and social interaction is evident in the thousands of experiments and monographs devoted to these issues. For example, a database search of the term interpersonal communication resulted in 27,067 hits. Expanding the search to synonyms and related terms exponentially increases the archive of germane literature. Faced with the magnitude of this domain, we use this chapter to lay out our criteria for selecting the meta-analyses included in this book, identify the logic used to group and organize the meta-analyses, and provide the context for the first collection dealing with individual processes.
